1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer network systems and, in particular, concerns document devices, such as MFP's, that are capable of capturing and transmitting documents to destinations that are dictated by workflow or event related information.
2. Background of the Related Art
A commonly understood enterprise environment, in the context of today's networked computers, involves an environment where a plurality of computers and other components are networked together. These computers can include such things as servers upon which documents are stored and servers upon which information that relates to various events and workflows is stored. It is generally understood that a workflow can include such things as tasks and events, where multiple participants will be performing different aspects of the tasks or preparing for different features of the event. Generally, a workflow is a process by which information can be managed so that each of the participants who is performing work associated with the task or event receives or completes the appropriate information along the timeline specified by the workflow.
As an example, scheduling software is often used to remind participants of an upcoming meeting. Various tasks for specific participants to be completed by the meeting may also be maintained. When the meeting occurs, it is generally desirable that the information that has been prepared by each of the individual participants also be disseminated to the other participants of the meeting. Preferably, it is desirable to disseminate some or all of this information prior to the meeting so that each of the participants at the meeting can have the opportunity to review some or all of the material prior to the meeting.
Another example of a workflow would be a task, e.g., such as performing a study of a particular business opportunity or the like and preparing a report summarizing the result. In this particular example, the task may involve many different participants each of whom will have a subtask or will have the responsibility of reviewing and approving the materials that have been prepared and associated with performing the task. These are but two simple examples of various workflows that can involve multiple participants, each of which may need materials to be forwarded to them at periodic time intervals.
One present difficulty with document management systems is that the dissemination of information for an event, such as a meeting, or for a task, such as approval of a report by a plurality of people, is often complicated. Generally, if the information is in a documentary form, an individual participant will have to capture the document, such as by scanning or saving the document into a memory. The user must then identify each of the other participants of the event or task who are to receive this document and copy each of these individuals with the materials that the individual participant has developed. Oftentimes, the individual participant may use their own computer on the network and may also transmit the documents to the other participants via email or similar transmission.
In many instances, this method of transmitting the documents to the other participants in a workflow task or event is necessarily complicated. In the specific example of a document or piece of information that is to be scanned, so as to be stored in a document repository, the individual participant must scan and store the document and then subsequently access a personal computer to retrieve the stored document from the document repository and forward it to the other participants. This can be a time consuming and cumbersome process of disseminating information relevant to a specific workflow task or event. In some instances, the ability to disseminate information to a plurality of individuals associated with a workflow task or event can be simplified through the use of mail lists and the like, however, even disseminating the information in this fashion generally requires the individual participant with the document to disseminate to utilize a separate computer system and retrieve the document to be disseminated and also to access the appropriate addresses or destination information of the other participants.
Hence, it will be appreciated from the foregoing, that there is a need for a method and system for more efficiently disseminating information that is associated with workflows. To this end, there is a specific need for a system that will allow electronically captured documents to be disseminated to other participants or destinations associated with an event or task in a workflow in a manner that does not require additional processing steps by the individual participant who is disseminating the document and also, in some instances, would not require the use of additional computer systems other than the document device.